Denis Cheryshev has joined Valencia on loan for the remainder of the season, having found first team football difficult to come by at Real Madrid.
The 25-year-old initially linked up with the Bernabeu club’s youth ranks in 2002, and went on to make over 100 appearances for their B team. Despite regularly impressing in the Segunda Division, he found it difficult to break into the first team and after making his debut in 2012 he would go on to make just a further six appearances of which only two came in La Liga.
Cheryshev had hoped to make the breakthrough under Rafael Benitez this season, but again he failed to persuade the head coach and his situation hasn’t improved since Zinedine Zidane replaced the Spaniard. This led to widespread speculation that the winger would leave the Spanish capital during the January window, with both Liverpool and Watford willing to lure him to England.
However, the Russian international – who has nine caps for his country – has opted to remain in La Liga and join Gary Neville’s Valencia for the remainder of the campaign. This will be the player’s third loan spell of his career, having played four time for Sevilla in 2013-14 and 26 times for Villarreal last season, when he also scored four goals to at long-last earn some plaudits.
Cheryshev is set to train with his new team-mates on Tuesday, before being officially presented by the club alongside new sporting director Jesus Garcia Pitarch. The winger could then make his debut in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, before attention turns to La Liga where Los Che are in 12th place having gone 11 games without a win.
